By Damaris Maina
Look around homes, offices, farms, and small businesses, and you will find a quiet but powerful force at work: people striving every day to build better lives for their families and communities. Among them are women running businesses, tending farms, building careers, and supporting households.
Women today are entrepreneurs, farmers, traders, professionals, and caregivers, often carrying multiple responsibilities at once while helping sustain households and local economies.
According to the World Bank, empowering women is not only a matter of equality, but also a key driver in addressing Kenya’s social and economic challenges, from poverty reduction and household resilience to sustainable community development. Despite their important contribution, many women remain highly vulnerable to unexpected setbacks that can quickly reverse years of hard work and progress.
What if that story could change?
Many entrepreneurs, especially mama mboga and small-scale farmers, operate without protection that truly addresses the realities of their businesses and livelihoods. Their income and investments remain highly vulnerable to risks such as theft, unfavourable weather conditions, and damage to business premises or property during political unrest.
Through solutions such as Biashara Salama, agri-insurance, and property protection, CIC Group cushions entrepreneurs against unexpected losses that could destabilize both businesses and families.
We do not stop at protection. CIC provides a range of investment solutions designed to strengthen financial security and enable long-term wealth creation.We cater to diverse investment goals through products such as Money Market Fund, Fixed Income Fund, Dollar Fund, Global Balanced Special Fund, and other professionally managed investment options.
Recognising the important role chamas play in building financial freedom, our CIC Invest App provides a dedicated chama feature that enables members to manage their group investments, track contributions, and invest conveniently through a single digital platform. In addition, CIC offers unique investment opportunities such as Ushirika Gardens, which gives individuals and chamas an opportunity to invest in land as a tangible asset with long-term value and potential for capital growth.
Financial security is not built on investments alone. It also depends on how well families are protected when health challenges arise.
Sadly, affordable healthcare is a source of constant worry for many families. One unexpected illness, and suddenly savings are depleted, plans are disrupted, and stability feels uncertain.
Through solutions such as Family Medisure, Seniors Mediplan, and accessible pharmacy services, we aim to make healthcare support more reliable, dignified, and accessible, walking with women and their families through every stage of life.
An interesting shift we are seeing is that traditional chamas are evolving beyond organised savings groups into important support systems for families and communities. Through CoopCare micro-health insurance, we are helping integrate affordable healthcare into these trusted networks, making it easier for many women-led groups to protect their health, household income, and overall financial wellbeing.
Now think about the next generation. For many women, education represents hope for a better future for their children, and we are proud to play a role in making that hope a reality.
Through the CIC Foundation, we continue to support bright but financially disadvantaged students from cooperative backgrounds. Since 2017, the Foundation has awarded over 220 secondary school scholarships, enabling young people, through a 50:50 gender approach, to stay in school and pursue their ambition.
Our mentorship programmes have reached more than 3,500 students, equipping them with professional skills, confidence, and the mindset needed to thrive in today’s world. Through internship opportunities tailored for university students, we continue to create pathways for young women to transition successfully into the workforce, with 193 girls having benefited from the initiative between 2024 and 2026.
The Foundation has further deepened its impact by offering university scholarships to outstanding beneficiaries, enabling them to pursue their tertiary education goals. Our pioneer university class was launched in 2026.
Internally, we have made deliberate progress toward gender balance, with women representing 52% of our workforce, and more being part of our network of over 7000 agents and brokers.
Our employee experience includes continuous learning and development, industry sporting activities, and regular medical camps that support overall wellbeing and preventive care. This helps build a culture that values growth, health, and long-term talent development.
During moments like International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, we go beyond celebration to create spaces for mentorship, empowerment, and meaningful engagement. We are equally intentional about life transitions, providing special support for nursing mothers, including flexible working arrangements for up to three to six months beyond the statutory maternity leave.
When we strengthen protection, expand opportunity, and invest in potential, we do more than manage risk. We enable women, families, businesses, and entire communities to thrive for generations.
The writer is the Head of Strategy & Sustainability at CIC Group PLC.
